Wire-supporting arrangement



Feb. 2, 1960 K. R. wALcH 2,923,510

WIRE-SUPPORTING ARRANGEMENT Filed Oct. 51, 1956 United States Patent 2,923,510 WIRE-SUPPORTING ARRANGEMENT Kurt R. Walch, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application October 31, 1956, Serial No. 619,537 6 Claims. (Cl. 248-68) in bundle or cable form.

The invention is specifically concerned with the type of Wiring cleat which comprises a wire-supporting surface against which the wires are secured by suitable fastening means. Prior -designs of this general type of which I am aware have been subject to a number of disadvantages. For example, in utilizing certain of these prior designs, it has been necessary to resort to unduly timeconsuming operations in order to secure the wires to the cleat. Additionally, with most of these prior designs, if the fastening means hasbecorne slightly loosened, the wires could become easily detached from the cleat, thus defeating the supporting function of the cleat. Moreover, few of these prior designs have readily lent themselves to being used ywith a variety of diierent types of.

fastening means, and, hence, it has been necessary to stock a variety of cleats where dilferent types of fastening means are to be used. Still further, many of the prior designs, when incorporated into a wiring assembly, have consumed an undue amount' of space and have not lent themselves to neat and compact assemblies inasmuch as they have projected laterally outward from the supported wires in an unsightly fashion.

2 structed in accordance with one form of my invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing by itself the wiring cleat which is utilized in the arrangement of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is -a cross-sectional view taken along the line -3- 3 of Fig. 1.

Figs. 4 and 5 are side elevational views of modified forms of wire-supporting arrangements which utilize the wiring cleat of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 shows another modified wire-supporting arrangement which utilizes the wiring cleat of Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 shows still another modified wire-supporting arrangement which utilizes the cleat of Fig. 2.

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view along the line 9-9 of Fig. 8. Y

Accordingly, a general object of my invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive wiring cleat which is largely free from the disadvantages set forth above.

Another object of my invention is to provide a wiring cleat which is so constructed that wires can be quickly secured thereto and thereafter prevented from becoming detached even if the wire-fastening means becomes slightly loosened.

`Another object is to provide a wiring cleat of the above nature which is concealed beneath the wires it supports and thus consumes a minimum of otherwiseuseful space'l and 'allows for a neat and compact wiring assembly.

In carrying out my invention in one form, I support one or more wires upon a panel or the like by means of a Fig. 10 is an elevational view of wiring cleat.

Referring now to Fig. 1, a plurality of insulated wires 12 are shown formed into a bundle and supported upon a panel or base 14 by means of a wiring cleat 15 constructed in accordance with one form of my invention. The cleat 15, comprises a mounting foot 16 which extends parallel to the upper surface of the panel or base 14 and is secured to the panel by suitable means, such as, for example, by a screw 17 threaded into the panel. Other securing arrangements such as bolts or welding can equally well be used for this purpose. Carried by the mounting foot 16 is a body portion 18 of strip-like form which is shown laterally offset from the mounting foot. This body portion 18 extends generally parallel to the upper'panel surface and is spaced therefrom.

As can be seen in Figs. l and 2, the body portion 18 of the cleat is provided with corrugations which form. alternate ridges and furrows extending transversely of the body portion on'opposite sides thereof. The wires 12 extend transversely of these ridges and furrows and are anchored against the upper surface of the body portion 18 by suitable fastening means, such as lacing cord 20, which is bound tightly about the wires 12 and the body portion 18. With the lacing cord 20 located in one of the furrows 21 on the lower side of the body portion and thus interlocking with the furrow, as shown in Fig.- 1, slippage of the cord along the length of the cleat is eifectively prevented by the adjacent ridges, even if the showing a modified form cord should become slightly loosened. So long as the wiring cleat which has a mounting foot secured against a ysurface of the panel. Carried by the mounting foot is a body portion which extends generally parallel to the surface of the panel in spaced-apart relationship thereto.

The' body portion is corrugated to provide alternate ridges and furrows extending transversely thereof. The supported wires extend transversely to these ridges and furrows and are anchored against one side of the body portion by fastening means which encircles the wires and the body portion and interlocks with at least one of the furrows on the other side of the body portion.

For a better understanding of my invention, reference may be had to the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

n Fig. 1 is a side elevational View showing a wire-sup-v porting arrangement which utilizes a wiring cleat con# such as 17 sometimes cord 20 remains reasonably tight, the bundle of wires is firmly anchored to the cleat and effectively prevented from moving in any direction with respect to the'cleat.

Assuming that the cleat rst has been secured to the panel 14, anchoring of the wires 12 upon the cleat can be a quick and simple operation with the illustrated cleat. For example, all that is involved is iirst forming the wires 12 into a bundle, resting the bundle upon the upper surface of the body portion 18, then Winding the lacing cord 20 about the bundle and the body portion with the cord located in the furrow 21, after which'the`lacing cord is pulled tight and suitably tied. The space provided between the body portion 18 and the panel 14 greatly facilitates the winding operation inasmuch, as it allows the assembler to slip the cord beneath the cleat from its front end 22 as he winds the cord about the bundle and cleat.

The laterally offset relationship ofthe body portion 18 with respect to the mounting foot 16 not only serves to provide the above-described spacing between the panel 14 and the body portion 18 but also serves to protect the insulation of the lower wires 12 from being abraded by the head of screw 17. Because the heads of screws develop sharp burrs' adjacent their tool-receiving slots, they are capable of seriously impairy ing this insulation if the wires are allowed to bear rmly against such heads. The offset between my mounting foot 116 and body portion lllS locates the wires l2 in such a position that their insulation does not contact `the' head of Yscrew `17* with sufficient pressure to allow damage/toy suchTinsulatio'n. If desired, the offset can be of sufficient extent to insure that the wires are maintained completely out of contact with the screw head.

It will be apparent that the above-described laterally offset relationshipv betweenthe foot 'lr6 and the body portion 13 is 'also advantageous in those applications in which the foot is arc-welded to the panel. Such 1aro-welding tends to produce sharp edges proiecting upwardly slightly from the foot 16, and the offset acts to maintain the supportedwires out of damaging Contact with such edges,

FFrorn Figs. l and3 it will be apparent that the insulated wires vlfare generally in alignment with the cleat 15 along its length, and thus the cleat is largely concealed e beneath such wires when viewed from above. This relationship not only contributes to a neat wiring assembly but also contributes to a highly compact assemblypin'asmuch as the cleat does not project laterally outward from the bundle of wires to consumel otherwise-useful space.

It should also be apparent from Figs. 1-3 Athat my cleat 1'5 is capable of supporting any number of wires of the same or varyingsize so long as the inherent mechanical strength of the cleat or the fastening means is nt overtaxed. In this same regard, it is to be noted that my cleat is capable of supporting only a single insulated wire if need be. l

An important advantage of ymy cleatis its versatility in lendingitself to use with different typesof wire-fasten.-

ing' means. vFor example, for larger bundles offvvir'es 'or for cables, stronger and more complex ties 'of lacing 'cord can bereadily used for anchoring lthe bundletothe cleatlS; In this regard, reference may be had to Fig. 4 in which thev lacing cord 20 is shown bound about-the bundle andthe cleat in separate spaced-apart locations.- As a; further example, reference 'may be had to Fig-5 in which the co'rd is shown bound abOUtthe bundl'eiand cleat alongthe entireV length of the body portionV ofthe cleat. `In any case, when cord is used as fasteningv means,

kat vleast a portion of the cord should be located'in-at least one of the furrows on `the underside of the cleat in order to vprevent the` cord from slipping with respect tothe cleat as described hereinabove. Y i

Figs. 6 and 7 further illustrate the versatility-of the cleat in lending itself to use with different types off fastening means. Here, the wires are anchored to Vthe yripper surface of the body portion 18 by means of a resilient 'the cleat and threaded into Yship to the' panel L18 serve the desirable purpose of permitting the free passage of air between the ridge areas upon which the wires 1,2 are supported. This tends to maintain the insulating cover ofthe wires 12 free from moisture inasmuch as the air acts to car1y away from this region a large portion of the moisture formed by possible surface condense-.tion on the cleat. The grooves themselvcsalso act to drainsuch moisture aWay from the insulation.

Another" important purpose ofthe furrowsV on` the upper surface of the body portion ltll is that they allow the cleat easily to be formed from a blank of uniform cross-section, as by a simple stamping process. Since the furrows on the upper surface register with'the ridges on the lower surface, and vice versa, Vthe body portion of the cleat is of a generally uniform cross-section along its length, and this allows/the stamping operation to be considerably simplified. Y

Wliere it is not practical or desirable to mountv the Wiring cleat l5 directly against the panel or base 14, in the manner shown in Fig. l, the desired spacingbetween the body portion liti and the panel 14 can be obtained even without the offset relationship between the mounting foot 1-6 and the body portion. For example, in Fig. 10 the mounting foot 1'6 is provided with a stud 45 secured to the panelV 14. Y This stud supports the'mounting foot i6 in spaced-apart relationingbetween the bodyY portion- '18 and ther panel even though the mounting foot 16y and the Vbody portion 18 are disposed inlessentially the same plane. A look nut 471 threaded on the stud 45 bears against-the panel 14 to prevent the cleat fromy being accidentally shifted with re- Y spect to the panel.v

While the wiring cleat 15 is preferably formedof Y a plastic compound. These latter yconstructions would provide additional insulation between the supported Wires and the metal panel or base 14.

metallic ring `30 ytending toV contract about the bundle end cleat. Assumingthat the cleat has first been secured Vto the panel, it is aAA simple matterjto thenr assemblefthe' While I have shownand described particular ernbodir-V A ments of my invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made `without departing from myjinventionfin Vitsnbroader aspects vand I, therefore, intend in the appended claims to 4cover all such changes and modifications as fall within f the'true spirit and scopeofrmy4 invention. js

What I claim as new and desire to secure by-Letters i Patents ofthe United States is.:

ring 30 about-the wires and theycleat. IFor example, the t ring is first positionedabout the wires 12 at some point spaced from the cleat; it is then expanded by suitably forcing together its ends Sill, and, with the ring held in this lexpanded condition, it is slidalong the wires over f g the front end 22 of thecleat into its proper position about the cleat, after which the ring is 'allowed to contract into thev clamping position shown in Fig'. 6. v i- The illustrated wiring cleat 15 also lends itself-toast; withr suitable' banding, such as VshownV at 35Min Figs. 8 and 9. Assuming that the cleat is attached to the panel, the'ba'nding 35 is simply slipped Vberi'eatlrthe wires 12 ahead of the cleat, isthen slid under the front end`22 of the cleat, after which it is suitably tightened about the 'cleat and the bundle of wires.v The banding '35 is soft enough to conform in a general way with the corifigration of the underside of the ridged body portion 185, and this effectively prevents longitudinal movement f 4the relative to the cleat. Preferably, the shoulder forinedwat the' front endof the cleat projects `slightly be- 10W 'the' lvllt'lnldst Surfaces 0f the other ridgemandthis 1. In an arrangement for supporting encor more wires upon a base, the combination with said Abase andsaid wires of a wiringl cleat having a mounting foot extending generally parallel toa surface of said base and secured to the base, a body portion carriedpby said foot and extending generally parallel to said Vbase surface in Vspace'tl-apartV relationship thereto in" a position located f between Vsaid base surface and said wires, said bodyfportion being provided with corrugations forming alternate ridges and furrows extending transversely of said body portion on opposite sides thereof, andlfasteningpmeans anchoring said wires against one side of said body portion` with the wires extending transverselycf said Vridges andv furrows, said fastening means encircling said wires andY said body portion and interlocking with at least one Y of said furrows on the other side of sadlbody, portion.

2. In an arrangement for supporting one or more wires upon a base, the combination withsaid base andsaid wires of a wiring cleathaving a mounting foot extending generally parallel kto a surfacevo'f said base and secured to the base, abody portion carried by said foot andl'e'xtending generally parallel to said base surface in spacedand therebyprovides the desired spacy apart relationship thereto in a position located between said base surface and said wires, said body portion being corrugated to provide at least one furrow extending transversely of said body portion on one side thereof, and

Vfastening means anchoring said wires against the other side of said body portion with the wires extending transversely of said furrow, said fastening means comprising a binding member encircling said wires and said body portion and having at least a portion thereof located in said furrow.

3. In an arrangement for supporting one or more wires upon a base, the combination-with said base and said wires of a wiring cleat having a mounting foot extending generally parallel to a surface of said base and secured to the base, a body portion carried by said foot and ex tending generally parallel to said base surfacein spacedapart relationship thereto in a position located between said base surface and said wires, said body portion being constituted by a strip of generally uniform cross section throughout its length, the strip being corrugated to provide alternate ridges and furrows extending transversely of the strip on opposite sides thereof, and fastening means for anchoring said wires against one side of said body portion with the wires extending transversely of said ridges and furrows, said fastening means comprising a binding member encircling said wires and said body portion and interlocking with at least one of said ridges on the other side of said body portion.

4. The arrangement of claim 3 in which said body portion is disposed in laterally-offset relationship to said mounting foot.

5. In an arrangement for supporting one or more wires upon a base, the combination with said base and said wires of a wiring cleat having a mounting foot extending generally parallel to a surface of said base and secured to the base, a body portion carried by said foot in laterally-offset relationship to said foot and extending generally parallel to said base surface in spaced-apart relationship thereto in a position located between said base surface and said Wires, said body portion being provided With cormgations forming alternate ridges and furrows extending transversely of said body portion on opposite sides thereof, and fastening means anchoring said wires against one side of said body portion with the wires extending transversely of said ridges and furrows, said fastening means encircling said wires and said body portion and interlocking with at least one of said ridges or furrows on the other side `of said body portion.

6. The arrangement of claim 5 in which the laterally offset relationship of said body portion with respect to said mounting foot provides a space between said wires and said mounting foot, a screw for securing the cleat to said panel and having a head which yis located in the space between said mounting foot and said wires.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 505,215 Buinton c- Sept. 19, 1893 1,336,388 Youngberg Apr. 16, 1920 1,763,770 Fish June 17, 1930 2,294,624 Miller Sept. 1, 1942 2,471,584 Richards May 31, 1949 2,682,384 Eichelberger June 29, 1954 

